login
mileage posted: Sun 2012-02-12 00:25:32 tags: fitness
(per twitter) session 68: 2 sets on the cybex circuit (except overhead press which is hurting my shoulder again), + 3.3mi / 38m40s

went to bed at a reasonable hour, woke a while between 4AM-5AM? rolled out of bed ~10:30, didn't really get my caffeine on until 11:30ish. Got out and about ~1:20 - Publecchs for a supply of Powerbars, Dunkins for coffee round 2, Lolmart to see if they had restocked white long-sleeve oxford button-down shirts in size medium (they hadn't), Target to price comparable shirts ($10 more per shirt... bastards... not that they had my size anyway), but I did end up with a 900W Oster hot plate ($20) and a pair of black slacks ($18).

By the time I'd finished waffling my way through the department stores, I'd had a good 80-90 minutes to absorb a Powerbar and coffee.
leg curls: 16-20x 50#
leg press: 16-20x 190#
arm curls: ~16x 30# + 10-12x 10# one-handed each side
ab crunch: ~16x 70#
arm extension: ~16x 50#
chest press: 12-14x 90#

Usually I try to make overhead press or arm curls my first station after the leg machines. Today it was overhead press. I intended to shoot for high reps so I went with 30#. On the release of the first rep, I could feel that kink in my right shoulder binding, so I took most of the weight on my left hand and eased the weight down.

Undaunted, I pulled my shoulders back, adjusted my posture and tried again; but again, on the downstroke my right shoulder started binding. Irritated, I let go the right-hand grip entirely. The Cybex overhead press has this weird feature where the grips swing freely in a lateral plane, so when I let go, it swung in and whacked me in the temple. Classy. I tried one more rep but it wasn't working, so I moved on.

On one previous occasion I found that on returning after warming up on other equipment, the issue disappeared, but that wasn't the case today. The other thing that helps is to increase the outward vector of force, which happens naturally at challenge weight settings but takes conscious focus at lower weight. Grip helps too, rotating the wrists inward a bit to rest the handle toward the cup of the palm rather than on the "heel" of the hand. So I got a short, half-hearted set in at 50# toward the end of the second circuit, but even with all the adjustment it didn't feel quite right.

* * *

I was very pleased with treadmill performance though: 1.5mi at 6.0mph, 2 laps cooldown, another 3-4 laps at 6.0, ~1-1.5 laps cooldown, finish the run at 6.0. This was my second-best time ever, vs. 38m6s.

Afterward I rewarded myself with dinner at Sumo Sushi (spicy tuna roll and spicy salmon roll), which may become a habit. Note to self, they don't open til 5 on weekends, so my timing was lucky. On the way I home, it was still light as I turned onto Sandalfoot and I was curious what the neighborhood was like, west past my current address. Turns out it's all mobile homes, many quite shabby, and a remarkable number of cats hanging around.

* * *

Rotator cuff injuries are commonly treated with physical therapy, very simple exercises that can be done at home with improvised weights. Also, review for nubs, you're not supposed to train the same muscle groups 2 days in a row.